Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.

100 Miles of Nowhere

Although the 7 Hills of Kirkland is probably the Seattle-area’s marquee cycling event for Memorial Day weekend, several other regional events this weekend caught my attention:

Down in Clark County, Jeff Glenn hosted the now annual Lewis and Clark Ultra Race (aka the “LaCultra”), with 6, 12, and 24 hour versions. No surprise, Mick and Martha Walsh were there representing the Seattle area: Mick won the men’s under 50 12-hour with 204 miles, and Martha won the women’s over 50 12-hour with 170 miles. Both won their respective King/Queen of the Mountain (KOM) competitions.

Ian Fillinger, who has competed in RAAM, won the men’s under 50 24-hour race and set a new course record with 374 miles. Lap Lai from the Vancouver (WA) Bike Club won the men’s 50+ 24-hour with 313 miles, which tied his mileage for last year. Cristina Mehaescu won the women’s under 50 24-hour with 304 miles, and Rebecca Smith won the women’s 50+ 24-hour with 170 miles. The LaCultra looks like a great event, though a history of cold and rain has kept me away thus far: I am an unabashed weather wimp. Jeff’s 1st annual Lewis & Clark Ride-N-Tie relay race on September 3 looks fun, and maybe the late summer weather that weekend will favor us wimps…

Meanwhile, at the Marymoor Velodrome, a small group of racers did a little epic called 100 Miles of Nowhere. 100 Miles of Nowhere is the brainchild of Elden Nelson, (aka “Fatty,” aka the “FatCyclist”) who four years ago wanted to prove to himself that he could ride 100 miles on his rollers.

The following year Fatty opened the idea up to his blog readers who did their own 100 Miles of Nowhere rides on their own rollers at their own locations with donations going to the Lance Armstrong Foundation. The second annual event sold out very quickly (500 entries) and Fatty has expanded the event little by little since then. 100 Miles of Nowhere has become so popular that it now sells out in about 12 hours.

For the past two years the local venue has been Tom Wick’s (Garage Racing) roof deck, but this year Tom decided to make it a more high-profile event and hopefully get more donations by holding it in a public place–at Marymoor Velodrome. Fatty’s “official” 2011 100 Miles of Nowhere ride date is June 4, but this conflicted with the upcoming Second Ascent Twilight Criterium in Ballard, so the local guys decided to do it May 29th instead.

Although they knew riding 100 miles on the track (that’s 400 laps and 1600 left turns!) was going to be more difficult than riding rollers, Tom’s thinking was that a public event would also draw more spectators, gawkers, hecklers, and pacesetters. In fact, Phil “Bilko” Stevens was on hand to provide motorpacing for many of the miles. Martin Criminale (FareStart powered by Cobalt Mortgage), who has been part of the event since 2009 reported that: “Behind the motor our speed was never less than 25 and for quite some time it was a solid 27-28 mph.” At one point the scooter had to stop to refuel and “suddenly even 25 mph and one lap pulls felt pretty hard!”

With scooter-assisted cycling, the group’s goal shifted from being a social ride to finishing quickly. One of Tom’s teammates had pledged a donation based on Tom’s speed and total elapsed time, so he “kept the bit between his teeth” and only stopped for a total of five minutes over the duration of the ride. Tom felt good on the bike (though suffered a bit the day after) and pedaled as fast as he could. For all of those involved, it was a new experience to eat, drink and photograph/video while riding on the velodrome. Both Tom and Martin blazed through Nowhere in under 4:00 with Tom finishing in 3:45 and Martin at 3:51.

The incoming reports say it was a success in terms of fun cycling with friends, trying something new and different, and raising funds for a worthy cause. In addition to pledges, Tom and crew collected $125 on site at the track.

1: It felt weird to eat/drink while riding on the track
2: DZ Nuts chamois cream feels even better after the 2nd application
3: Winchester Beef Bars don’t present well when emerging from their packaging, however they taste GREAT. They did not give my stomach any grief either.
4: 100 miles on a road bike is MUCH more comfortable than the same distance on a track bike.

The Nowhere train headed into the backstretch.

Other riders who participated included Peter Stocker, Matt Haldeman, and John McHale. About eight members of John McHale’s team, 20/20 Fuel Cycling came out to cheer (and do the wave!) and show their support, and about eight Garage racers showed up to heckle the riders.

Maybe (weather permitting–no riding on the track when it’s wet) this will turn into a regular Marymoor event?

Note: This is a seattlepi.com reader blog. It is not written or edited by the P-I. The authors are solely responsible for content. E-mail us at newmedia@seattlepi.com if you consider a post inappropriate.